UNDOUBTEDLY, the Pakistan cricket team is one of the finest teams in the world, though its performance varies from time to time. Pakistan cricket recently faced a major blow as wicket-taker and leading off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for alleged illegal bowling action. It is a surprising decision by the ICC.

Ajmal has played 35 Tests and taken 178 wickets, and his ODI record stands at an impressive 183 wickets from 111 matches. His 63 T20 appearances have yielded 85 wickets.

After Ajmal’s long cricketing career, now the ICC has banned him for his bowling action. It is unfair to ban him after such a long time. Why doesn’t the ICC run bio-mechanical tests of every bowler at the start of their career rather than impose a ban when they are at their peak?

Nasiruddin Soomro
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2014